At Border Pillar 609 at Babliyan near Jaisalmer, the one thing that dominates the landscape is something entirely different, something central to our identity -- the Tiranga -- flying boldly above the blazing desert.
Key Points
- Babliyan is 140 kms from Jaisalmer.
- It marks the edge of the western border in Thar.
- On the other side in Pakistan's Punjab and Sindh.
The road to the western-most border, deep in the Thar desert, is easily one of India's smoothest drives. On either side is the vast expanse of the desert -- golden, flat, as long as the eyes can travel. No houses or shops or people -- only few camels and donkeys -- resting under scrubby shrubs.
This is tank country, the flat terrain ideal for the movement of tanks during war. Not far from here, in these very sands, one of India's most famous battles, the Battle of Longewala was fought during the 1971 Indo-Pak War, later immortalised in the film Border.
For most of the journey from Jaisalmer to Babaliyan, ours was the only vehicle on the road. We were headed to the International Border manned by the Border Security Force on India's western-most point.
A permit from the BSF at the Tanot Mata temple complex -- 20 kms behind -- provides access to the border post. Only Indian nationals are permitted.
A BSF trooper from Tripura checked the permit at the entry. Summer had not yet set in, but the desert was sizzling, every grain of soft sand glittering in the sunshine.
Wide-brimmed hat and sips of water were a must. There were no shops en route to buy food or water between Tanot Mata to Babliyan.
Winter was over and the tourist season had ended -- only a handful of tourists were making their way to the border. Bear in mind that Jaisalmer airport only operates during the winter months.
Almost all visitors stopped to take pictures under the imposing entry gate which read: 'Welcome to the India-Pakistan Border'.
Across the silent desert, on the other side lay cities that seemed so far away and yet so familiar -- Lahore - 300 kms, Karachi - 680 and Islamabad - 730 kms. Lahore, once the capital of undivided Punjab and the seat of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's empire, and Karachi, the capital of Sindh -- both cities with deep historical and cultural ties to Indian history and memory.
Gandhi, Nehru and Patel and other leaders who fought for India's freedom had fiercely fought for these two cities, given their sizeable Hindu and Sikh populations, to be a part of India. But the boundary commission set up by the British under lawyer Cyril Radcliffe awarded the two cities to Pakistan.
In 1947, many left their homes behind and faced the horrors of Partition as they crossed the hurriedly drawn border. Many from Sindh must have passed from this very part of the desert into India.
Nearly 80 years after Independence, people from all parts of India, still come here, drawn by curiosity and history, seeking the border. To see with their own eyes the line that divided this land and her people.
That line is marked by a white conical pillar, silently standing in the empty desert. You can't go close; visitors are allowed entry up to a concertina wired fence and can only strain their eyes to spot it in the distance.
It stands beyond a black iron gate, between metal fencing on both sides.
Border 609: At the Last Mile of India's Western Frontier
Border Pillar number 609 -- 150 metres ahead, a board points to the pillar which unassumingly marks the limits of India's vast land on the west.
And then you take a moment and -- pause. The one thing that dominates the landscape is something entirely different, something central to our identity -- the Tiranga. It flutters high above a camouflaged BSF watchtower. Flying boldly above the land where BSF troopers stand vigil over the desert that stretches to Pakistan's Punjab.
A few kilometres beyond Punjab lies Sindh.
No Signs of Life Across the Border
No structures or security personnel or inhabitants can be seen on the other side. Just a flat desert. This is nothing like the Wagah border where one can see Pakistani Rangers and Pakistani people -- and where large crowds gather every evening to watch the theatrical flag ceremony. The Wagah-Attari gate was open for trading trucks till it was closed after the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025.
Construction is going on at the Babliyan site to provide seating for visitors. It appears that BSF plans to start a flag lowering ceremony here as well in the future. The cafeteria is also getting an expansion.
But till that actually happens, at Babliyan, the silence is the spectacle.
"Is this where they shot the border scene in Bajrangi Bhaijan?" asks a woman to her travelling companions. "No, no, that was some other place" replies a young man with an air confidence.
And just out of nowhere, Hindi cinema makes its presence felt yet again. Displaying its power of humanising events and stories; of bridging imagination and reality -- and giving life to a remote border at the far edge of our expansive country.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
